Category: dance

Yes, it’s a made-for-reality-TV concept that indeed is reality TV in Britain and now in the US: “Without speaking, or even knowing each other’s names, two strangers share a choreographed dance — they learn their parts independently in advance — and get to know each other through movement alone.” – The New York Times

The massive strike, in its 24th day and spread throughout the country, went viral last week when dancers and the orchestra performed selections from Swan Lake in front of the Paris Opèra. “The special retirement plan for the Paris Opera, which allows dancers to bow out at age 42, was introduced in 1698 by king Louis XIV — making it among the oldest in France.” – France24

“With technically demanding feats, male ballet training tends to emphasize jumps and batterie. In general, men are more privy to additional allegro combinations at the end of multi gender classes, as well as male-only technique classes. … And the women? Most female ballet dancers today perform both classical and contemporary repertoire interchangeably, and this can include exuberant jumps similar to traditional male variations.” So why aren’t they being taught the same way? – Dance Magazine

After Rachel Cossar retired from Boston Ballet, she started a class called Choreography in the Kitchen to teach restaurant workers healthy ways to lift, bend and reach with poise. Then she was asked to create a similar program for the fundraising department at Harvard. Both classes became popular, with long waiting lists, and Cossar has now turned Choreography For Business into a thriving enterprise. – Dance Magazine

“For directors, they provide a way to evaluate dancers they might not otherwise see. For dancers, they expedite the cumbersome, expensive and time-consuming auditions process. But multi-company auditions don’t follow one recipe. As these three examples prove, they’re varied in their goals, demographics and pricing, so it helps to know what each offers.” – Pointe Magazine

“Over the years, around the world, there have been stories of ballet dancers having unhealthy diets, eating disorders and mental health issues. In more recent decades, the ballet world has recognised this – and a shift is well underway, in attitudes towards food, eating, diet and nutrition … So how far has the industry come – and what more could yet be done?” (audio) – BBC

Uh, congratulations? That’s very advanced of Dancing on Ice, if we lived in, say, 1994? But of course, someone has to be first. – BBC

Twenty-two years after the groundbreaking production had its U.S. debut in Los Angeles, it returned – “as gloriously relevant as ever.” And here is a photo gallery of what happens backstage, offstage, and around stage as audiences watch the stage itself. – Los Angeles Times

The academy had given its students “insufficient medical and therapeutic care,” a commission set up by the Austrian government, said in a report issued on Tuesday. There also seemed to be “no awareness” that it had a responsibility for its students’ health. The decision to effectively dismiss Simona Noja-Nebyla was announced in a news release on Friday by the company that oversees all of Austria’s federal theaters. – The New York Times

Just about anyone who knows a bit of ballet history has heard of Marius Petipa, the man behind Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker. Yet not many people know just how he came to end up at the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg and what he did there for 63 years. Joan Acocella fills us in. – The New York Review of Books